American ideology made baseball the national pasti...
For sport-minded British immigrant men in the United States，the English sport of cricket proved immensely popular as part of their sporting heritage.Cricket，in fact，preceded baseball as a team sport followed by spectators，and it provided for the English what baseball provided for a growing number of Americans—a“national pastime”（in a phrase coined in 1856 by the New York Mercury baseball team）.Accordingly，before 1860，cricket enjoyed its own popularity in the U.S.and the question as to whether cricket or baseballwould ultimately capture the American sporting heart was still unanswered.In the 1850s，the rise in nationalistic spirit in the United States fueled the sport press covering baseball and cricket；the increased interest in American identity at this time spurred baseball to wider appeal，and baseball would surpass cricket as an expression of national strength in sport.
The formation ofmore and more baseball clubs—made up of clerks，artisans，shopkeepers，and laborers—in both urban and rural areas soon kept the game in the public eye and attracted more spectators.And，as an alternative to the tough，bloody，and often immoral sports found in saloons and commercial amusement halls，and to offset the physicalweakness of businessmen occupied in sedentary jobs and lacking exercise in the fresh air，health and sport advocates promoted baseball as especially useful in helpingmiddle-class Victorian men and their sons become Muscular Christians.
Thomas Higginson，one of the greatest health reformers，believed that the outdoor competitive sport of baseball enhanced the physical fitness of businessmen.Baseball gained a hold on the sporting practices of Americans of different social ranks，races，and ethnicities.Formost Americans，baseball seemed more appealing than cricket，sincemen played baseball ata swifter pace，and itgained popularity both among youngmen seeking athletic activities.
Indeed，as American nationalism emerged and strengthened，baseball，continually forged and molded to suit the needs of Americans，began to assert a stronger hold on the American public，eventually pushing cricket forever into the margins of American sporting life.Baseball，a faster，rougher sport that featured striking displays ofmen's physical skills，captured the attention of Americanmen.Compared with cricket，baseballwas an economical recreation；the uniform is not costly，the playing implements，colors，and furnishing of a neat club-room，need notoccasion an extravagantoutlay when divided；itwas also simple to learn and unlike cricket，easy enough to play to accommodate a range of ages and skills.Moreover，baseball needed“aggressively physical”，offered endless bursts of action and limitless quick sprintingwith very little dead time in between.By 1860，baseball had become the preferred team sport of the nation，and its dominance continued during and after the CivilWar.